Salvation Offered to All

Beyond organization, the Pastorals carry a doctrine of salvation, dense and firm, which Paul sets against the speculations of the false teachers. It holds in a few simple certainties.

God wills all men to be saved

God destines salvation for all, excluding no people and no condition. “who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” 1 Timothy 2:4 And this salvation passes by a single way, Christ, who unites God and man in his person: “there is one God, and one mediator between God and mankind: a man, Christ Jesus.” 1 Timothy 2:5 This mediation has a price, which the next verse names: Christ handed himself over to ransom all. “who gave himself as a ransom for all.” 1 Timothy 2:6 If there is but one mediator, it is because he alone paid for all.

The grace that has appeared

This salvation has appeared in history, in the person of Christ. “the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people.” Titus 2:11 And this grace does not dispense from living well, it teaches it: it teaches to renounce evil and to live uprightly, awaiting the return of Christ. This return Paul calls the blessed hope, and there he names Christ “our great God,” thus affirming his divinity. “as we wait for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.” Titus 2:13

The laver of the new birth

Man does not save himself by his own merits, but by the mercy of God, received in baptism. Paul gives one of its most beautiful descriptions, where baptism is a washing that makes one born anew: “he saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy, through the washing of new birth and the renewal by the Holy Spirit.” Titus 3:5